Our Trainees

The giraffe journey

  • work

    WORK-BASED TRAINING

    We provide real work experience in our café and kitchen settings. Trainees will work alongside our staff and volunteers to gain practical skills in:

    - Hospitality

    - Catering

    - Customer Service

    - Retail

    EMPLOYABILITY

    As well as work experience and training, we offer our trainees one-to-one employability support to help them move towards paid work, further education, or mainstream volunteering opportunities.

    We exist to help individuals move on to meaningful destinations and work closely with a network of local businesses and employability services. When trainees come to the end of their placement at Giraffe we work with them to identify their next steps and support them to make positive transitions. We can also offer in-work support to those who move on to mainstream employment and volunteering opportunities.

  • life

    PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT

    We offer a range of additional activities which support personal development and promote health and wellbeing. Activities change throughout the year but can include things like:

    - Inclusive Cycling Group

    - Wellbeing Walks

    - Mindfulness Activities

    - John Muir Award Programme

    Our activities programme is sent out on a monthly basis, and we encourage all of our trainees to engage in group activities if they can.

    Please note that some of these activities may have a small joining fee attached.

  • learning

    QUALIFICATIONS/CERTIFICATION

    We enrol all of our staff, volunteers and trainees onto our in-house training system and work with them to achieve industry recognised certificates in things like:

    - Food Safety

    - Customer Service

    - Health and Safety

    - First Aid

Download Our Trainee Referral Form

Our experienced and friendly supervisors and volunteers will ensure that your Giraffe journey is fun, safe and rewarding. Placements are available in our South Street Café and Kitchen

After your referral or application to join us, we will have an informal meeting to see if this is the right environment for you. Our places are highly sought after and we need to make sure that the fit is right! If you are offered a place, you will start with a morning or afternoon shift once a week. You will receive and induction and ‘getting to know you session’ to make you feel comfortable and part of the team. Then we issue a passport to track your progress and development through your staged ‘Giraffe Journey’ with us.